It’s hard to imagine any one player carrying more of an offensive burden than Trey Burke. He’s the dominant ball-handler, scorer and distributor for a Michigan offense that’s second in the country in offensive efficiency. After putting off the NBA for at least one season, the sophomore has raised his numbers across the board—he’s averaging 19.2 points, 6.8 assists and 1.6 steals for the Wolverines. And it’s not just his counting stats; his tempo-free numbers have jumped up, too—his offensive rating of 126.0 is second in the country, and he’s raised his percentages on his 2-point attempts (from 49.0 to 53.3), his 3-point attempts (from 34.8 to 39.6) and at free-throw line (from 74.4 to 78.4)

The number that really counts: 38.9 assist rate. When Burke is on the court—which is almost always; he’s averaging north of 35 minutes per game—38.9 percent of the field goals his teammates make are the result of Burke assists. And that only counts official assists, not “hockey assists” where he starts the ball moving toward an eventual basket. Add in the fact that he’s averaging 19.2 points himself, and you start to get a feel for his importance.

What the numbers don’t tell you: Burke really is the perfect fit for this Michigan team because takes the pressure off everybody. Because Burke is the superstar, junior Tim Hardaway, Jr., is allowed to find his scoring opportunities within the flow of the offense instead of forcing shots, as he did at times his freshman year. Freshmen Glen Robinson III and Nik Stauskas have been able to make a huge impacts as third or fourth scorers, again within the flow of the offense that Burke creates. Big men Jordan Morgan, Jon Horford and Mitch McGary have been able to focus on rebounding and defense. With Burke, Michigan works.

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First-team: Victor Oladipo, Indiana

Oladipo’s rise toward elite status has been one of the more improbable stories of this college basketball season. He was an important part of last year’s Indiana team, which finished 27-9 and lost in the Sweet 16 to Kentucky, but nobody expected him to become the single most important player on this year’s squad. His improvement was quickly evident, though. He dominated early season non-conference games as a defender and was an efficient scorer, and then continued to produce once Big Ten play started. That’s when the rest of the nation figured out what Indiana fans already knew—Oladipo was the engine that makes the Hoosiers a true national championship contender.

The number that really counts: 66.4 effective field goal percentage. Basically, Oladipo stopped taking bad shots this season and instead focused on his greatest offense strength, which is attacking the basket. His quick first step is almost unguardable on the perimeter, and no player finds and exploits seams in the defense better than Oladipo. There’s a reason his 2-point field goal percentage went from 52.3 as a sophomore to 65.5 as a junior, which is a stunning number for a 6-5 wing player. And his shot selection from 3-point range is excellent; he’s only attempted 56 3-pointers on the season, but he’s knocked down 26 of those shots (46.4 percent). His effective field goal percentage (which weighs 3-pointers more heavily because they’re worth an extra point) is 66.4 percent, the fifth-best number in the country.

What the numbers don’t tell you: Oladipo is an incredibly versatile defender, and coach Tom Crean doesn’t hesitate to give him assignments all over the court. And he’s not afraid to switch those assignments during games, either, depending on which opposing player is giving the Hoosiers trouble. He’ll defend point guards, shooting guards, small forwards and help down on big men whenever the opportunity arises. Indiana’s biggest problem last year was on the defensive end of the court; Oladipo’s improvement and versatility there has been huge in Indiana’s rise to national contender.

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First-team: Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga

The Gonzaga big man is, without a doubt, the most improved player in the country. He was mostly a role player his first two seasons at Gonzaga, then redshirted in what would have been his junior season. Olynyk used that time away from game action wisely; he came back a much more polished, confident player this season. The 7-footer has posted an amazing 126.1 offensive efficiency rating this season while being a focal point in the Gonzaga offense. As a point of reference, since statistician Ken Pomeroy started keeping track of such things in the 2005 season, only two players in the country have exceeded that number as a high-usage player—Marquette’s Travis Diener and Utah State’s Spencer Nelson back in 2005.

The number that really counts: 69.3 percent. Don’t be fooled into thinking Olynyk padded his gaudy numbers against weaker West Coast Conference competition. In his seven games against teams from the six “power” conferences—Oklahoma, Clemson, Washington State, Illinois, Kansas State, Baylor and Oklahoma State—Olynyk made 52 of his 75 field-goal attempts, a stunning 69.3 percent. He averaged 17.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in those seven games, despite playing just 24.3 minutes in those contests. And the Bulldogs went 6-1 against those seven foes, losing only against a then-undefeated Illinois squad.

What the numbers don’t tell you: Olynyk makes the Gonzaga offense flow. He can’t really be guarded one-on-one, but there aren’t any appetizing double-team options for opposing teams. Olynyk is an excellent passer for a big man, and fellow big men Elias Harris or Sam Dower are both shooting better than 50 percent from the field; they can’t be left alone. The opposing guards can’t sag down to double because Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell, Jr., are both outstanding shooters from beyond the arc.

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First-team: Otto Porter, Georgetown

Two months ago, Porter wasn’t in the first team All-America conversation. But the Hoyas won 14 of their final 16 games of the regular-season—after losing Greg Whittington and his 12.1 points per game to academic issues—and Porter became the face of the hottest team in the country. In those 16 games, his individual offensive rating was below 112 just twice, which is an amazing run of consistent excellence. Porter, a 6-8 do-it-all sophomore, posted seven of his eight 20-point games on the season after the Hoyas lost Whittington; he finished the regular season averaging 16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals.

The number that really counts: 44.0 3-point percentage. With Porter’s size, strength and body control in the paint, it’s almost unfair for him to shoot such a high percentage from beyond the 3-point arc. He’s not a high-volume shooter from distance—he’s taken more than six 3s just twice all season—but he’s a very real threat from outside. And because defenders have to extend out on him, his first step is even more dangerous.

What the numbers don’t tell you: Porter is what the Hoyas need him to be on a game-to-game basis, and the two dominating victories over Syracuse this season best speak to Porter’s value. In the hostile environment of the Carrier Dome, Porter scored 33 of Georgetown’s 57 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, and he added eight rebounds and five steals. At home in the regular-season finale, Porter spent most of the game hanging out near the free throw line, exploiting a soft spot in the Syracuse zone. From there, he scored 10 points, dished out seven assists and didn’t turn the ball over once in 39 minutes. He also had eight rebounds, two steals and a block in a game the Hoyas won 61-39.

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First-team: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Marcus Smart controls the basketball game. That’s really the best way to describe Smart’s impact on the Oklahoma State Cowboys this season. He’s a freshman point guard who looks like a linebacker—he’s listed at 6-foot-4, 225 pounds—and has played like a seasoned veteran from the day he stepped onto campus. “In my mind, a point guard is a leader, somebody who is there to help others around him get better and do anything that he has to do for the team,” Smart told Sporting News back in November. “That’s not just scoring, but the other aspects of the game, contributing to get the win. That’s what you have to do.” And that’s what Smart has done all season. When the Cowboys snapped Kansas’ 33-game home court winning streak, Smart had 25 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists. When they knocked off rival Oklahoma in a tense overtime game, he had 28 points, seven rebounds, four assists, a pair of steals and a block that sealed the victory.

The number that really counts: 3.0 steals per game. There are few players in the country better at suckering opposing players into ill-advised passes. A good rule of thumb is to always assume Smart is paying attention, even if his focus seems to be elsewhere. And more often that not, when he explodes into a passing lane and picks off a lazy pass, he finishes with two easy points at the other basket. And this happens all over the court—in transition, on the perimeter, or with entry passes to the post. Smart doesn’t have the quickest hands in the country, but he has the best sense of opportunity.

What the numbers don’t tell you: The box score-stuffing numbers speak volumes—he finished the regular season averaging 15.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 0.7 blocks (as a point guard). The thing that’s really impressive though, is how he’s able to affect so many areas of the game. He does an excellent job handling opposing point guards, but he’s also strong enough to drop down and defend in the post on switches or when the Oklahoma State bigs are in foul trouble. He loves to post up any defender willing to take him on; he’s too big for the point guards and too quick for the bigs.

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Second-team: Jeff Withey, Kansas

For the first time in his Kansas career, Jeff Withey started this season on his own little island in the middle of the Jayhawks’ defense. That wasn't a problem. The senior 7-footer finished the regular season averaging exactly four blocks per game (124 in 31 games), good enough for third in the country. Obviously, the only good shot-blocker is a shot-blocker who can actually stay on the court, and Withey did a fantastic job of that; he finished 21 games this season with two or fewer fouls, and in 19 games this season, Withey had more blocks than fouls. And, it turns out Withey can score, too. He posted 12 double-doubles on the season and averaged 13.6 points per game.

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Second-team: Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State

When Jared Sullinger left Ohio State for the NBA Draft, the role of the Buckeyes’ No. 1 scoring option was handed to Deshaun Thomas, and he hasn’t disappointed. The Buckeyes have had their ups and downs this season, but the one constant has been Thomas—the 6-7 junior scored at least 14 points in 29 of Ohio State’s 30 games, and he had 11 in the one outlier, an easy win at Penn State. This production came despite the fact that everyone in the country knows Thomas, who led the Big Ten in scoring at 19.8 points per game, is Ohio State’s only real scoring option and every game plan has been devised to slow the lefty.

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Second-team: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Once he finally was deemed eligible by the NCAA—we’ll step delicately around that debacle—and survived some of the typical freshman growing pains, Muhammad developed into the best player in the Pac-12. He also led his Bruins to the outright conference championship, which seemed like a long shot after UCLA lost three of four games to close out January. Muhammad scored at least 21 points eight times in conference play and finished the season averaging 18.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.

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Second-team: Doug McDermott, Creighton

The best player to wear the Creighton uniform since Paul Silas had another outstanding season for the Bluejays. McDermott averaged 23.1 points per game, while posting video-game shooting percentages—58.9 percent on 2-point attempts, 49.7 percent on 3-point attempts and 86.0 percent on free-throw attempts. In the regular-season finale against Wichita State—the winner claimed the Missouri Valley title—McDermott turned in one of his best performances of his career, which is really saying something. The 6-foot-8 junior scored 41 points on 15-of-18 shooting from the field, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists. And, yes, the Bluejays won that contest.

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Second-team: Seth Curry, Duke

The preseason hype surrounding Duke was focused on Mason Plumlee, and the return of Ryan Kelly from a foot injury dominated the discussion down the stretch, but Curry was the Blue Devils’ most reliable player. Despite dealing with a couple different leg-related injuries that kept him to an extremely limited practice schedule—he basically didn’t practice during the ACC portion of the schedule—Curry scored at least 20 points in 16 games this season. But here’s where his real value to the Blue Devils is revealed: In the 13 games Kelly missed with his foot injury, Curry scored at least 20 points eight times. Without that consistent offensive production, the Blue Devils don’t go 9-4 without Kelly, and they’re not in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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Third-team: Russ Smith, Louisville

The energetic one averaged 17.9 points per game for the Cardinals while remaining one of the peskiest defenders in the country (2.1 steals per game). The 6-foot sophomore guard, who sits atop the kenpom.com player of the year standings, cut back on the amount of plays that made Louisville fans want to pull their hair out—he didn’t eliminate them, mind you—and has been a consistent producer for one of the country’s elite teams.

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Third-team: Cody Zeller, Indiana

Sporting News’ preseason player of the year didn’t finish as SN’s eventual player of the year, but that doesn’t mean Zeller had a bad season. Far from it, in fact. The 7-foot sophomore improved across the board, leading Indiana in points (16.8 per game), rebounds (8.1) and blocks (1.3) while still shooting 57.0 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the free-throw line.

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Third-team: Ben McLemore, Kansas

There were several games this season where the redshirt freshman looked like the best player in the country, games that made NBA scouts drool—33 points in an overtime win against Iowa State and 30 points against rival Kansas State are two prime examples—but bouts of inconsistency kept him off SN’s first or second teams. He finished the regular season averaging 16.7 points per game, while leading the Big 12 in free-throw percentage (86.3) and finishing second in 3-point percentage (43.4). If—OK, when—he decides to declare for the NBA Draft, he’s a lock to be a top five pick.

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Third-team: Allen Crabbe, Cal

The Golden Bears won nine of their final 11 games to rise from CBI afterthought into a tie for second place in the Pac-12 and likely NCAA Tournament at-large bid, should they fail to win the conference tournament. Crabbe, a 6-6 junior wing, was a primary reason for the rise. His masterpiece came in a road upset of then-No. 7 Arizona—he poured in 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting and added seven rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot. Crabbe finished the regular season averaging 18.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

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Third-team: Shane Larkin, Miami

The emergence of Shane Larkin as an elite point guard is the biggest reason the Hurricanes arrived on the national stage this season. With Larkin taking over as the primary ball handler, everything fell into place for Miami coach Jim Larranaga, starting with Durand Scott sliding over to more of a shooting guard role, where he was able to focus on his strengths—attacking the basket on the drive and knocking down spot-up jumpers. Without Larkin, the Hurricanes would have been a top-25 team. With him averaging 13.7 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, they earned the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and are a very legitimate Final Four threat.